Odds Are, You're Going to Be Exalted by Alonzo Gaskill

**Note: I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This book is written by an LDS author and is pretty particular to LDS doctrine. If you have questions about my beliefs, I'd love to talk to you, or you can visit THIS PAGE on Mormon.org to understand a little more about what we believe this life and the life after are all about. I love talking to people about what I believe, but please don't use this post as a forum for negative comments about my beliefs.



As a guilt-prone person of faith, I have lots of moments where I wonder if I'm really doing enough in the eyes of God. I always feel like I could be doing more...because all of us could be doing more. When is enough, enough? And even though I know we have been given the gift of Jesus Christ's Atonement to help overcome sin and weakness, I wonder if I'm applying it the way I'm supposed to. If I'm going to make it to the highest degree of glory, with all my family in tow, have I really done enough? This book calmed many of those doubts and fears.

I originally picked this book up because the author was my Book of Mormon professor my very first semester at BYU. He was the most entertaining professor I ever had, and he is an amazing scriptorian. When I saw this title pop up on my local library's Overdrive list, I decided to give it a shot. I'm so glad I did.

Gaskill uses a mix of scripture, quotes from general authorities, and commentary from gospel scholars to provide a compelling argument for his title statement: odds are, you're going to be exalted. One of his main points really hit home with me. After discussing what we know about the opportunity people without the gospel will have to receive it after death, he addresses this question: "so wouldn't it be easier to get to the celestial kingdom if I didn't have the gospel on earth then just accept it after?" He notes that there is no way being born in the latter-days and having the blessings of the gospel and covenants in the temple is a disadvantage. While it's true that where much is given, much is required, that doesn't mean having the gospel means you're less likely to make it to the celestial kingdom. That doesn't even sound logical. We should have a great advantage because we have the gospel and access to so many blessings. He provides much more evidence supporting this idea in the book.

After initially feeling reassured while reading the book, I started to have one big, creeping doubt as I got closer to the end. In a section on wayward children, Gaskill provides scriptures and quotes to support the idea that children will eventually return, after they've gone through the proper repentance process and suffered for any sins left unresolved. As a parent, I found comfort in this idea and know that the scriptures promise this. However, I have a hard time wanting this to apply to even the people in my life who are very intentionally making choices that harm other people, trying to tear them down. If these people have parents who keep their covenants, do they get to make it to? That doesn't seem fair to me, when I'm over here trying my hardest to live the right way. The justice part of my brain couldn't make peace with that. In the final chapters, my worries were assuaged. Through quotes from general authorities, Gaskill brought home the point that, in the end, both justice and mercy will prevail. God will take care of all. We are all His children and He wants us all to return to Him, but He will not let any unclean thing enter his presence. It will all work out. I want Him to be merciful with me, so I have to let Him show mercy towards others, trusting that the demands of justice will be met.

I would highly recommend this book to any LDS person looking to gain some additional insight into the plan of salvation. It was extremely thought provoking and allowed my husband and I to have some great discussions. I do have one disclaimer on any book like this, written by a gospel scholar and not as a church publication: THIS BOOK IS OPINION, NOT DOCTRINE. Although Gaskill uses scriptures and quotes from general authorities, he put them together in a way that makes sense to him that support his opinion of the plan of salvation. There are some beautiful truths in this book, but it is up to each of us, individually, to prayerfully consider the ideas and make sense of it.

Overall Rating:  4 stars

Content Warning: Nothing offensive, just a lot of religious stuff!

Target Audience: LDS adults, possibly even teens

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

In this inspiring true story, a team of nine rural boys from Washington cause the nation and the world to pause and reconsider everything they know about the sport of rowing. Most of the story focuses on Joe Rantz, the ultimate underdog, who fought against amazing odds to end up as one of the top rowers for the University of Washington in the 1930s. As the Washington boys work towards their Olympic dreams, Hitler and his minions are carefully crafting the 1936 Olympic Games to show the world a beautiful facade hiding horrors no one had possibly yet imagined. For fans of Unbroken, this rowing team competed at the same Olympics as Louie Zamperini.

After reading Unbroken, I saw this book suggested on Amazon and immediately put it on hold at my library. It took a couple months to make its way to me, so I was a little extra anxious to get started with it when I finally got my hands on it. I wasn't disappointed! Who doesn't love an underdog story? I'm amazed that, even though I knew how it would end, there was still so much suspense leading up to each event. The author did an excellent job of building the story to make you feel part of it and get your hopes up each time the team competes.

Joe Rantz's story is pretty amazing. Just like when I read Unbroken, I came away with a sense of how different life was back then. These men had real work ethic and weren't afraid to live on bare bones for the chance to go to a university and be on the rowing crew. They dedicated themselves to school and sport. It's rare to find people today with the same work ethic that existed back then.

I also found it interesting to read about some of the preparations for the 1936 Olympics. Hitler and his right-hand man, Goebbels, put an insane amount of effort and money into the facade they built to hide the gruesome reality of Germany at that time.

Overall, I loved this book. The only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is for the excessive descriptions in some sections. The pace dragged a little at certain points of the book. Where Unbroken kept me turning pages and intrigued every step of the way, The Boys in the Boat, was easy to put down here or there. Other than the slow parts, this was an excellent read. I knew nothing about rowing before I picked this up, but that didn't matter. The author explains the intricacies of the sport well enough that by the end, you understand how miraculous the ending is.

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Content Warning: There is some brief, scattered language, but not much. Some adult topics are grazed over, but nothing graphic is discussed.

Target Audience: Anyone looking for a fascinating, true story, fans of Unbroken, anyone who's interested in rowing.

Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover by Ally Carter (Gallagher Girls #3)

In the 3rd installment of the Gallagher Girls series, Cammie Morgan (spy girl in training), finds herself stuck in the middle of a complex kidnapping plot intertwined with a presidential campaign. As she tries to uncover who is behind it all, she discovers secrets much darker and deeper than she ever imagined.

Ally Carter stays true-to-form in this Gallagher installment, providing an easy, entertaining read with a little bit of intrigue. Although the premise of the whole series (top secret school for spy girls in training) is a bit far-fetched, it is highly amusing and will keep you laughing. Any girl who has watched Alias has tried to channel her inner Sydney Bristow at some point. This series does the same thing for teenagers. I particularly liked Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover because of the new insights into Cammie's history. The first two books seemed to just introduce a lot for the series. This book was the first one that seemed to delve into something a little deeper.

For me, this series is a perfect "in between" read. When I've just finished a lengthy novel, something really serious or anything non-fiction, this series provides a quick refresh before I jump into the next thing on my to-read list. Because of that, I haven't finished the series yet. I just pick them up as a quick 1 day read here or there. However, I'm confident Ally Carter will deliver with the final 3 in this series as well!

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Content Warning: These are pretty squeaky clean. There might be a mild swear word here or there, but I honestly can't remember any. I'd have no problem letting my 13 year old read this (and probably would have let her read them 2 years ago).

Target Audience: Teenage girls or women looking something quick and fun

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

What Alice Forgot can be found on many a Pinterest list labeled "Books So Good You Can't Put Them Down". I did, indeed, read this one in less than 24 hours. It's a quick, easy read considering the length. I loved the way the author built the story. Alice, a nearly 40 housewife and mother going through a nasty divorce, one day finds herself waking up with a bump on the head and an interesting case of amnesia. She has lost the last 10 years of her memory and thinks she is 30, blissfully in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. Moriarty writes the story the way Alice gains her memory back - piece by piece. Each interaction with different friends or family members help Alice start to piece together what happened in the last 10 years to lead to her not-so-happy current life. It definitely kept me reading until the end. 

Without spoiling too much, Alice (at 40) is....not the nicest. She's burned a lot of bridges. I was so sad for her as she realized how many relationships she'd ruined. It would be so bizarre to wake up one day and find out the people you thought were closest to you didn't like you much anymore. As she started to get her memory back, she made some interesting choices that I didn't quite understand or agree with. I did like the ending, although it pulled together rather quickly considering how detailed the rest of the book was. I liked the book enough that I figured I'd try another Moriarty book. See my review on The Husband's Secret for my take on that.

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Content Warning: There is some foul language sprinkled through the book, though not excessive. There are a handful of f-words (that mostly come from 1 character). There is some sexual innuendo but nothing super graphic.

Target Audience: This is pure chick lit. Adult women only.

The Selection Series by Kiera Cass

**I'm going to treat this series as one book for two reasons. 1) I read all 3 books in about 48 hours, so it felt like one continuous book to me. 2) I liked all 3 books equally and didn't feel like any of them stood out of the crowd enough to warrant its own post.

The Selection series:
The Selection
The Elite
The One

Looking for a lighter read, I found this gem in the YA section and devoured it. It's like a mash-up of The Hunger Games and The Bachelor, all set in a fairy tale kingdom. 16-year-old America Singer reluctantly signs up to be on a reality show set up to find a match for the newly eligible prince of the kingdom, Maxon. Unlike the rest of the beauty queen wannabes and Maxon superfans, America is there to help her family, who is unfairly placed near the bottom of the kingdom's broken caste system. She develops a funny friendship with the prince along the way and finds herself enjoying the whole ordeal more than she expected.

Although the series starts out feeling like it might just be fluff, Cass does an excellent job of intertwining the dating escapades with more serious undertones of unrest in the kingdom. And what would a YA dystopian novel be without a love triangle? Although many of the elements in the book are similar to previous YA dystopian trilogies, The Selection provides a refreshing take on the genre. Usually by the 3rd book in these series, I feel like the author has given up and created a terrible ending. The Selection is the first trilogy of its kind that had me interested and satisfied to the end.

One warning: When I started The Selection, I thought the whole "Selection" process would be done in the first book. When I finished #1, I had to rush to the library to grab the next two books so I could find out what happened. My suggestion: grab all three at the same time. You'll be done with all three in a couple days anyway.

Once you've finished the series, you can join me in anxiously awaiting The Heir, coming in May 2015. It serves as a sort of epilogue to the series, giving you a view of what comes after happily ever after.

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Content Warning: There are a few slightly steamy make-out scenes and a few suggestive comments referencing what will come post-wedding, but nothing graphic or alarming. There are also a few mild swear words. Overall, it's very tame. I would let my 13 year old read this.

Target Audience: teenage girls or any female with a bit of a romantic streak